A method and an apparatus for managing a physical location of a network device. The method includes saving, in a first location table, received location information that is sent by a first network device, acquiring topology information of an entire network by communicating with a network controller, searching the topology information for a first top-of-rack switch that has a minimum network hop count to reach the first network device, adding the physical address of the first top-of-rack switch in the first location table to serve as a physical address of the first network device, and building an association between the physical address and the location information of the first network device. Therefore, a physical location of a network device can be conveniently and quickly managed, thereby greatly reducing a manual workload.